Hong Kong Judgment

Family Court

YKC v. LMYT

On this page

Professional case brief

Research organized from the available case record

Source document

01

Holding and result

The court appointed Ms Pamela W.I. Lam (Centaline) as the parties' single joint expert for update valuations of the three landed properties to be filed by respondent by 30 August 2019, and Mr Jerome McDonagh (Matson Driscoll & Diamico Ltd) as the parties' single joint expert for the valuation of M L Ltd to be filed by respondent by 27 September 2019; the costs of preparing those reports are to be borne equally initially and to be in the cause, and an order nisi was made that the petitioner pay the respondent's costs of the present application (taxed if not agreed) unless varied within 14 days.

Court disposition

Single joint experts appointed; timetable fixed; costs order nisi against petitioner

Orders

  • Ms Pamela W.I. Lam of Centaline appointed as parties' single joint expert for update valuation reports of Shop 9, MHV and Parc Palais
  • Ms Lam's report to be filed by respondent on or before 30 August 2019
  • Mr Jerome McDonagh of Matson Driscoll & Diamico Ltd appointed as parties' single joint expert for valuation of M L Ltd
  • Mr McDonagh's report to be filed by respondent on or before 27 September 2019
  • Costs of preparation of the above SJE reports to be borne by the parties in equal share initially and to be in the cause of the ancillary relief proceedings
  • Liberty to apply
  • Order nisi that petitioner shall pay respondent's costs of the present application, to be taxed if not agreed; order nisi becomes absolute unless varied within 14 days

02

Material facts

Parties

YKC

Petitioner (husband) Counsel: Pauline Wong & Co.

LMYT

Respondent (wife) Counsel: Haldanes

Amounts and remedies

  • Mr Chan Fee: HKD 48,000
  • Ms Pamela W.i. Lam Fee: HKD 17,000
  • Mr Lai Fee: HKD 270,000
  • Mr Jerome Mc Donagh Fee: HKD 100,000
  • Ms Lam Estimated Working Days for Update Valuations: 7
  • Mr Chan Estimated Working Days for Update Valuations: 14
  • Mr Lai Estimated Weeks for M L Ltd Valuation: 9
  • Mr Mc Donagh Estimated Weeks for M L Ltd Valuation: 4

03

Procedural history

  1. Posture

    Matrimonial Causes / Ruling on Appointment of Single Joint Expert (disposal on Papers)

04

Questions and positions

Legal issues

Party arguments

Applicant
Petitioner proposed Mr Chan (BMI) for update valuations and Mr Lai (RSM) for valuation of M L Ltd; argued suitability based on expertise and provided estimated timeframes and fees (Mr Chan HK$48,000, Mr Lai HK$270,000).
Respondent
Respondent proposed Ms Pamela W.I. Lam (Centaline) for update valuations and Mr Jerome McDonagh (Matson Driscoll & Diamico) for valuation of M L Ltd; argued they were qualified, faster and significantly more cost-effective (Ms Lam HK$17,000, Mr McDonagh HK$100,000).

05

Court’s reasoning

  1. 01

    Order 38 r.4A(2) District Court Rules / case management powers of the court

    Court has power to appoint single joint experts and give directions on their appointment and instructions

  2. 02

    Inherent case management principles and proportionality in expert evidence

    Expert appointment and scope must be proportionate and cost-effective

  3. 03

    Practice and case management of matrimonial ancillary relief proceedings

    Costs of expert reports may be ordered to be initially shared and ultimately in the cause of ancillary relief proceedings

06

Ratio, limits and disposition

Ratio decidendi

The court appointed Ms Pamela W.I. Lam (Centaline) as the parties' single joint expert for update valuations of the three landed properties to be filed by respondent by 30 August 2019, and Mr Jerome McDonagh (Matson Driscoll & Diamico Ltd) as the parties' single joint expert for the valuation of M L Ltd to be filed by respondent by 27 September 2019; the costs of preparing those reports are to be borne equally initially and to be in the cause, and an order nisi was made that the petitioner pay the respondent's costs of the present application (taxed if not agreed) unless varied within 14 days.

Obiter and limits

  • Judge observed respondent's choices were plainly preferable and more cost-effective
  • Court noted Mr Ng and Ms Lau resigned or did not produce reports and emphasised timely completion (gave specific short timelines)

Court disposition

Single joint experts appointed; timetable fixed; costs order nisi against petitioner

  • Ms Pamela W.I. Lam of Centaline appointed as parties' single joint expert for update valuation reports of Shop 9, MHV and Parc Palais
  • Ms Lam's report to be filed by respondent on or before 30 August 2019
  • Mr Jerome McDonagh of Matson Driscoll & Diamico Ltd appointed as parties' single joint expert for valuation of M L Ltd
  • Mr McDonagh's report to be filed by respondent on or before 27 September 2019
  • Costs of preparation of the above SJE reports to be borne by the parties in equal share initially and to be in the cause of the ancillary relief proceedings
  • Liberty to apply
  • Order nisi that petitioner shall pay respondent's costs of the present application, to be taxed if not agreed; order nisi becomes absolute unless varied within 14 days

Source and reliance status

Family Court · 2 August 2019

This page organises the available record for research. Confirm quotations, current status, and subsequent treatment against the official source before relying on the case.

Judgment reading view

Judgment text

The complete available source text.

Source document

Family Court

Judgment· 2 August 2019

[2019] HKFC 197

bjbj FCMC9062/2015 [2019]HKFC197

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

MATRIMONIAL CAUSES NUMBER 9062 OF 2015 ----------------------------

BETWEEN YKC Petitioner and LMYT Respondent ------------------------ Coram: Before Deputy District Judge K. K. PANG (disposal on papers) Date of Petitioner Husband s Submissions: 9 July 2019 Date of Respondent Wife s Submissions: 10 July 2019 Date of Handing Down this Ruling: 2 August 2019 ------------------------------

RULING (Appointment of Single Joint Expert) ------------------------------

AUTONUMOUT By the Ruling dated 17 December 2018, Mr. Ian Ng of HKAAL was appointed as the parties single joint expert ( ) for the preparation of the valuation report of Shop 9, MHV and Parc Palais, and Ms. Rita Lau of HKAAL was appointed as the parties SJE for the preparation of the valuation report of M L Ltd. Regrettably, Ms. Lau has resigned without producing a valuation report of M L Ltd. and, after having already prepared the valuation reports of Shop 9, MHV and Parc Palais, all dated 13 February 2019, by the letter dated 29 April 2019, Mr. Ng sought to resign from the appointment as the parties SJE. By the Order dated 12 June 2019, it is directed that new SJE be agreed and appointed by the parties to prepare the update valuation reports of the said landed properties and the valuation report of M L Ltd. The parties were unable to reach an agreement on the appointment of new SJE. Both parties wrote to the court for further directions on the choice of SJE pursuant to Order 38 r.4A(2).

AUTONUMOUT For the update valuation of the three landed properties, H suggested Mr. Chan Wing Fun Joannau ( Mr. Chan ) of BMI Appraisals Ltd ( ), and W suggested Ms. Pamela W.I. Lam ( Mr. Lam ) of Centaline Surveyors ( Centaline ). It is beyond dispute that both of them are experienced surveyors and qualified to prepare the update valuation reports. Mr. Chan has indicated that he needs about 14 working days for the report whilst Ms. Lam s estimate is that the update valuations reports can be completed within 7 working days after inspection. Mr. Chan s fee is HK$48,000, and Ms. Lam s fee is HK$17,000. In light of the fact that Ms. Lam s fee is only a fraction of Mr. Chan s, other things being equal, I am naturally in favour of Ms. Lam. I give the parties until 30 August 2019 for the completion of the updated valuation reports.

AUTONUMOUT For the valuation of M L Ltd., H suggested Mr. Lai Wing Lun Johnathan ( Mr. Lai ) of RSM, and W suggested Mr. Jerome McDonagh ( Mr. McDonagh ) of Matson Driscoll & Diamico Ltd. Mr. Lai has indicated that he needs about 8-10 weeks for the report. It was said that Mr. McDonagh estimated that the report would require 3 4 weeks. Mr. Lai s quoted fee is HK$270,000, and Mr. McDonagh s fee is HK$100,000. Having carefully read both Mr. Lai and Mr. McDonagh s C.V., I am satisfied that both of them are qualified to prepare the valuation report. I accept W s argument that Mr. McDonagh is obviously a more cost-effective choice than Mr. Lai. I give the parties 4 weeks to send out the joint instructions and the necessary materials and informations, and further 4 weeks for the completion of the valuation report.

4. IT IS therefore ORDERED that: Mr. Lam of Centaline be appointed as the parties SJE for the preparation of the update valuation reports of the three landed properties; Mr. Lam s report be filed with court by W on or before 30 August 2019; Mr. McDonagh of of Matson Driscoll & Diamico Ltd be appointed as the parties SJE for the preparation of the valuation report of M L Ltd; Mr. McDonagh s report be filed with court by W on or before 27 September 2019; The costs of the prepartion of the above SJE reports be borne by parties in equal share initially and be in the cause of the ancillary relief proceedings eventually; Liberty to apply.

5. W s choices are plainly preferrable to H s and it is therefore unreasonable for H having been uanble to agree with W. I make the order nisi that H shall pay W s costs of the present application, to be taxed if not agreed. The order nisi becomes absolute unless a party has applied for varying the order within the next 14 days. ( K K PANG ) Deputy District Judge Pauline Wong & Co., solicitors for the petitioner Haldanes, solicitors for the respondent -

PAGE -

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T U V x`Hx. odYdYdYdYdNYNYNYNYN gdW % gdN@ zqdqdq[RI hj"Y hW % gd%c gdW % }tkbYPYPYkbYPYPYk hW % :ptH [Content_Types].xml _rels/.rels theme/theme/themeManager.xml K Y, sQ}# theme/theme/theme1.xml $O}) Xp90 +PHI| PP yu 9xu5 fs+W VF7H q=. 8}d- qyI@ j!Q_ jyV` |PZ+ T ""p < 4V O&x$ A8>v ;EUC n 8r *~P(5 .}x E /,EE\} theme/theme/_rels/themeManager.xml.rels 5 6?$Q K(M&$R(.1 [Content_Types].xmlPK _rels/.relsPK theme/theme/themeManager.xmlPK theme/theme/theme1.xmlPK theme/theme/_rels/themeManager.xml.relsPK <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?> <a:clrMap xmlns:a="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/drawingml/2006/main" bg1="lt1" tx1="dk1" bg2="lt2" tx2="dk2" accent1="accent1" accent2="accent2" accent3="accent3" accent4="accent4" accent5="accent5" accent6="accent6" hlink="hlink" folHlink="folHlink"/> !X.0L i(4/d Ti(9v Y6Bh= y,N^X :LmD]\ _V^n _V^n y,N^ |bTi(9 i(4/ & 6"

CACV Judiciary English.dot Windows User Microsoft Office Word Judiciary

CACV

CACV Title Microsoft Word 97-2003 Document MSWordDoc Word.Document.8

Source wording is retained. Consult the source document for its original formatting and pagination.

Authorities

Authorities used by the court

Cases, legislation, regulations, and constitutional provisions identified in the available record.

Order 38 r.4A(2)

Legislation

Legislation referenced in the available case record.

Case-aware research

Ask AI about this case

The judgment and available research above are public. New questions open in a separate private conversation grounded in this case.

About this LexChat collection

This page organizes the available case record for research. Verify quotations, current status, and subsequent treatment against the source document. Corrections can be reported to hello@esheria.ai.

Legal information, not legal advice. Research summaries do not replace the judgment.